The green card marriage interview is an important part of any green card through marriage process. As you know, overseas long-distance relationships are distressing because of the days spent apart from your loved one and from expense associated with visiting them. However, you can legitimize your immigration status in the US through marriage and apply for a green card so that both, you and your spouse, can settle together in the United States. For one to immigrate to the United States through marriage to a U.S. citizen, one must file an application with the USCIS. You can learn more about the green card application process. The green card through marriage interview usually takes place about three months after filling the application. It is very important for one to prepare for your marriage green card interview properly to avoid delays in approval of your case, or worse, denial of your application.

Where Will the Green Card Marriage Interview Take Place?

The location where the interview takes place depends on the process that one undergoes when applying for the permanent residency. All applicants living overseas go through the consular processing, this means that the interview is held in a U.S. Embassy or consulate in the immigrant country of origin. If the applicant is already living in the U.S., the individual is required to procure Adjustment of Status and is supposed to submit the paperwork to U.S.-based office of USCIS. The interview is held here and both spouses are expected to attend.

What One Need to Know About the Green Card Marriage Interview?

At the interview, the immigration officials review the paperwork. Thus, bring your full application with you together with supporting documentation. The officer will ask you questions that are aimed to confirm who you are, where you work and live, as well as whether you are financially secure to avoid receiving government assistance. Most often, the officer will request documents from applicants that show that they share a life with their spouses together. The official may request to keep the document, thus bring copies. The immigration officials may also ask several individual questions of personal nature to test the authenticity of your marriage. For a 100+ list of sample interview questions, download Green Card by Marriage guide at our home page.

The bottom line, green card interview is an important step in the application, which can lead to an approval or create undesirable and costly delays. To ensure you are prepared, please visit www.doityourselfgreencard.com to download Green Card by Marriage guide and subscribe to our newsletter, or www.doityourselfgreencard.com/blog for further discussion of immigration and green card issues.

A lot of people find the green card application process daunting: It is lengthy and complicated. This might be true especially if you do not know where to start and the right procedure to follow. One can download the full guide about how to apply for green card. Below is a quick overview. The green card application process differs depending on the type of applicant and his/her current location or residency. Nonetheless, the following steps are generally applicable: Application, petition, adjudication, medical examination, green card interview, and approval.

Application

​Anyone applying for the green card while living outside the United States, needs to go through consular processing. In this case, one submits application documents to and conduct interviews with U.S. consular officers in one's home country. On the other hand, people applying for a green card who area already in the United States are required to go through a process known as Adjustment of Status. As such, their application process is conducted entirely in the United States. In both cases, application process involves filling out a bunch of forms and submitting certain support documentation for the review by the U.S. immigration authorities.

Immigrant Petition

​Either a relative, an employer, or in some rare cases, an applicant him or herself, files an immigration petition for the beneficiary, the future immigrant. For example, I-130 is the petition file reserved for the family based immigration process, while I-140 is used for employment based immigration process.

Immigrant Visa Availability

Due to the various restriction and quotas, a person may not automatically get a permanent residency after submitting his or her immigration petition. Such person may have to wait for their visa number to go through a queue; in some rare cases the wait may take years. In case of immigration through marriage, however, there are no such restrictions or wait times. If the immigration petition gets approved, the case is forwarded to the National Visa Center.

Adjudication

​Once the immigrant visa number is available (which means the priority date becomes current), the person seeking immigration benefit can now secure adjustment of his/her status to permanent resident if the said person is already in the United States. However, if the person is not in the United States, he/she can now apply for an Immigrant Visa from the U.S. Embassy that has the jurisdiction over his/her residence, and then seek adjustment of status after he/she enters the United States.

Medical Examination

​The person applying for the green card will have to undergo a medical examination covering vaccinations, including x-rays, various blood tests and physical exam. The timing of the medical exam is dependent on the specific type of green card one pursues.

Green Card Interview

All applicants must go through an interview. During such interview, the officer in charge will ask the applicant several questions to verify the eligibility of applicant and accuracy of the information provided. It’s important for one to prepare well for the interview, else the application might be delayed through request for additional evidence, or worse be denied.

When All is Said and Done

After an applicant has obtained a green card, he/she, generally, can enjoy its benefits for ten years. In order to maintain the legal permanent residence status, its holders must comply with the United States laws, including certain immigration related regulations like duration of stay outside of the U.S.

Green card application process is hard, complex and may be expensive. To ensure this process is as efficient as possible, please visit www.doityourselfgreencard.com to download Green Card by Marriage guide and subscribe to our newsletter, or www.doityourselfgreencard.com/blog for further discussion of immigration and green card issues.